A few cool days slowed the snow melt on Teton Pass but the trails continue to dry out. I saw a few brave souls who had pushed out through the ~3 feet of snow on Pass Ridge and descended Black Canyon and Lithium. Ski Lake is quite doable to the lake with snow remaining above. Arrow to Phillip’s Canyon is cleared and passable with a few lingering drifts. The Ridge is also passable by linking Arrow to Snotel and sections of the BPA road before descending the Ridge trail to Fish Creek road. There are still a few trees down there that the Youth Trail Crew will help clear on their first day this Monday. Look for these high school students working on the trails over the next 9 weeks, particularly on Teton Pass where they will be building bridges and installing new signs. The crew also finished the first bridge on the History trail this week and we have some volunteers lined up to help us add gravel to the approaches and carry lumber to the next bridge sites. Hopefully we dodge the rain this weekend and everyone is able to get out for an adventure. Remember to wait til the roads dry out after a rain before going on the trails, that is usually a good indicator of when they have dried out enough to not be damaged and muddy.

@friendsofpathways

Ahh the winter that keeps on giving, we are still about a month behind last year in the trails drying out around the valley. With the snow last night and rain in the forecast the upper elevations that were getting dry are pretty slimy and slick. There may be some opportunities to get out during dry spells this weekend but I would recommend staying low and avoiding shady north facing trails. The crew this week cleared Ferrins and Wilson Canyon and they are both dry up to the meadows. Wilson Canyon has more water damage to the trail as the old cow retaining pond at the top has failed and water is running down the canyon for about a mile until it disappears underground. The crew also cleared the lower parts of History, Crater, and Black Canyon on the pass. There is still a lot of snow lingering in the trees there, but Jim Verdone was able to plow Old Pass Road so that is a good dry option. If you see Jim give him a big thank you for all the work he is doing to keep the Old Pass Road in usable shape. Have a fun weekend and hopefully we will get a little sunshine.